Cocktail of the Day: El Floridita No. 1

We had a bunch of people over Saturday night for a potluck and cocktail tasting, which was tons of fun. It was a lot of the same folks who came to our wine tasting last year, and this was even better because this time around we knew a lot more about what we were talking about (heh). We served taster-sized (about 1.5-2 oz.) portions of four different drinks: the Corpse Reviver No. 2, the Mother-in-Law Cocktail, the Widow’s Kiss and this one, a lovely variation on the daiquiri. This was the house cocktail at the El Floridita Hotel in Havana, Cuba, and the recipe comes from the hotel bar’s recipe booklet, printed in the 1930s.

In fact, this is how Daiquiris are made at Boadas Bar in Barcelona, Spain. The bar was founded in 1933 by Miguel Boadas, a Havana-born Cuban of Catalan parents, and is still run by his family. Their Floridita-style Daiquiris are served in coupes over crushed ice, which would be a good idea for this drink as well.

Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker, shake for at least 10-12 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish is specified, but Boadas uses a cocktail cherry, and a lime wheel wouldn’t be inappropriate if you so choose.

We made this with 10 Cane Rum, a relatively new agricole-style rum from Trinidad that we like a lot. At Boadas you get Havana Club (of course).

[UPDATED February 3, 2010]

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